Archive

The Matthew Effect - why literacy is so important

Sep 30, 2012 | Category: learning

Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.Matthew 13:12 In the world of the 2012 Ofsted framework very few sch...

#Ofsted #literacy #spelling #Reading #writing #Geoff Barton #the Matthew Effect

Special needs children, moving up to secondary school

Aug 29, 2012 | Category: SEN

Another guest post on a pastoral issue about which I don't know enough... If your child’s time at junior/primary school comes to an end this summer, then you need to start preparing them (and the re...

The role of the form tutor - the importance of WHY

Jul 22, 2012 | Category: Featured

Today's post is that rare beast - a guest blog by someone other than me. This should come as a welcome and refreshing change. Not only that, it's a post on a pastoral issue which is something I've alw...

#form tutor #pastoral #Sarah Ledger

Making feedback stick

Jul 16, 2012 | Category: English

There's really no argument about the fact that feedback is pretty important. It sits right at the top of the list of strategies which make the biggest impact on students' progress. If we're not giving...

#Hattie #Triple impact marking #feedback #dialogics

A year in the life of an English teacher

Jul 12, 2012 | Category: reflection

What a lot can happen in a year. It was only this time last July that I began my experiment with Twitter and blogging. I think it's fair to say that my professional life (and at times my personal life...

#blogging #Twitter

The art of failing

Jul 06, 2012 | Category: learning

Why on earth would we ever want to fail? Failing's bad, right?Obviously getting something wrong, performing poorly and making mistakes is uncomfortable. But these things are a part of life. An importa...

#failure #Dylan Wiliam #public critique #Ron Berger

Some thoughts on silent reading

Jul 01, 2012 | Category: English

[caption id="attachment_2287" align="alignleft" width="300"] Is silence is golden?[/caption]"And Johnny, what makes you think that is suitable for silent reading?" "Because Sir, you really would not w...

#Kenny Pieper #accelerated reader #Geoff Barton #Hirsch #Matthew effect #Saint Ambrose #silent reading

Why we should strive for perfection

Jun 26, 2012 | Category: learning

This article was first published, in a slightly different form, on the Guardian Teacher Network [caption id="attachment_1439" align="alignleft" width="200"] TEACHERS ASSEMBLEhttp://venspired.com/?page...

#Samuel Beckett #Growth mindset #outstanding lessons #Perfect English Ofsted Lesson

The best laid schemes of work & learning

Jun 09, 2012 | Category: learning

The best laid schemes o' mice and men gang aft agley. Robert Burns Ah, the scheme of work. We've all got 'em. but what are they for? To spell out the structure of each lesson in advance? Or to act as...

#cook books #learning loop #Robert Burns #schemes of work

The need for 'Why To' guides

Jun 07, 2012 | Category: assessment

I'm not a fan of telling people how to do things. OK, that may not strictly speaking be true, but I do believe that just explaining how to solve a problem is unlikely to result in much learning. The b...

#AfL #Dylan Wiliam #SOLO taxonomy #Weight Watchers #Why